As a freshman…

As a freshman there were a few things I wish someone had told me or that I remembered to do. Everyone has different experiences and we can’t compare one to another but my tips might help you not make the mistakes I did, and as we all know knowledge is a form of growth.

#1. Don’t forget to call your parents! No matter if you’re a commuter student or a student who will be dorming, don’t forget to check in. Your parents are going to worry A LOT, so it helps to give them a call or face time with them to make them still feel needed. Plus, if you stay on their good side they might be a tad bit more willing to help you out with financial matters. “MOM, I need new shoes mine broke, or MOM, I don’t have money for food this week!”

#2. Dont get into a relationship right away. This can work for some people, but often it doesn’t. the same goes for the typical highschool relationship, give yourself time to meet new people. You see this hot guy in class and he might seem like he’s the perfect one… until you get to know him and he has no idea what the word intelligence means. Also if you settle down right away you might miss out on a lot of opportunities because your to wrapped up in your new love life. College is about meeting new people and finding out who you are as a person, not about finding the love of your life.

#3. Sign up for everything. In the question sessions we had over the past couple weekends this question came up a lot. ” What should I sign up for my first week or the first year?”. The answer to that is what don’t you want to sign up for? You want to make new friends and find people who are interested in the same things that you are. Plus it keeps you busy so you don’t gain that freshman 15 everyone’s worried about.

#4. This isn’t Highschool anymore. Since you don’t have parents at your side anymore, there is no one to tell you to get your work done or to study for your tests. At FIT your life revolves around time management. Everything that is assigned can be done in that time period as long as you work on it when you are supposed to. Friends are important to make but school work always comes first. The last thing you want is to fail out of school or fail one of your classes. STAY FOCUSED.

Freshman year is a huge adjustment period but I made it through and so did millions of other people, you will be fine!